1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a collection system for surgical instruments. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a staple cartridge debris collection system.
2. Background of Related Art
During routine surgical procedures, medical instruments can accumulate organic and inorganic debris. This debris may contain healthy tissue, diseased tissue, or tissue debris which contains pathogens or other dangerous substances. Surgeons, nurses, and other health care professionals must therefore take the necessary measures to avoid contamination. Even if a medical instrument, or a portion thereof, is disposable, these professionals have to debride the debris from the medical instrument before handling it to prevent infections. Direct and, sometimes indirect, contact with tissue debris may cause illnesses. Health care professionals must thus dislodge debris from a medical instrument before disposing or reusing it.
In an effort to prevent contamination, many devices, systems and methods have been developed over the years to debride debris from surgical and dental instruments. Hand-scrubbing, for instance, is one of the methods used for debridement. This method involves the use of friction to dislodge and remove solids accumulated in a surgical instrument. To apply friction to medical or dental equipment, technicians typically employ a hand-held bristle brush such as a bristle nail brush or a tooth brush. In theory, the constant and frequent hand scrubbing with the hand-held brush removes organic and inorganic debris from the surgical instrument. Hand-scrubbing, however, does not necessarily control or prevent infections because it may lead to direct contact with contaminated surfaces.
More recently, ultrasonic cleaning has been used to debride debris from medical instruments. This method reduces the likelihood of direct staff contact with contaminated surfaces. In this method, instruments are placed in a chamber and submerged in a suitable ultrasound conducting fluid. An ultrasonic generating transducer is then electronically activated to produce ultrasonic waves in the fluid. Consequently, energy is released from the creation and collapse of microscopic cavitation bubbles. These bubbles break up and lift off dirt and contaminants from the instrument's surface. Ultrasonic cleaning, however, requires machinery, expensive maintenance, and considerable expenditure of time in its practice.
The debris removal methods described hereinabove have their disadvantages. Hand-scrubbing does not effectively prevent infections, and ultrasonic cleaning can be very expensive. In light of the foregoing, it is desirable to develop an efficient and inexpensive device, system, and method for debriding debris from medical instruments.